Estate Planning in Malibu

Malibu is a place people work a long time to reach. It’s an incorporated coastal city with an older, established population, the median age is around 54, and roughly a third of residents are 65 or older, and home values that regularly run past $2 million. If you’ve built substantial value here, the question isn’t whether it’s worth protecting. It’s whether it passes to your family cleanly and privately, or gets tied up in probate court. Estate planning is how you keep it in the family instead.

I’m Eric Ridley, an estate planning attorney since 2010. I work with Malibu families on flat-fee plans, in person and by video, with clear advice and no upselling.

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Probate in Malibu

Malibu is in Los Angeles County, so probate here runs through the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Probate is public, usually takes more than a year, and the statutory attorney and executor fees are calculated on the full value of your home, not just the equity you hold in it. On a Malibu home worth $2 million or more, that’s expensive and it’s all a matter of public record. A funded living trust avoids probate completely and keeps your affairs private.

What your plan should cover

A solid plan for a Malibu family usually includes a living trust to hold the home and other assets, a pour-over will as a backstop, a durable power of attorney for finances, and an advance health care directive for medical decisions. If you have minor children, the will is where you name a guardian for them. And with Malibu home values where they are, Prop 19 is a real factor, it limits the property-tax break your children get when they inherit, and on a high-value coastal home that difference can be substantial. It’s worth planning around now.

Malibu Estate Planning FAQs

Which county handles probate for Malibu?

Malibu is in Los Angeles County, so probate is handled by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. As an incorporated city on the LA County coast, any estate that has to go through probate here would be overseen by that court.

Do I need a living trust if I own a home in Malibu?

For most Malibu homeowners, yes. A home worth $2 million or more that passes through a will alone goes through probate: public, slow, and with fees based on the home’s full value. A funded living trust keeps the home out of probate and passes it to your family privately, which matters even more when the value is this high.

How does Prop 19 affect the home I leave my kids?

Prop 19 changed the rules for inherited homes. Your children can usually keep your lower property-tax basis only if they move into the home as their primary residence, and even then there’s a cap on how much of the value is protected. On a Malibu home well above $2 million, an inherited property your kids don’t live in, or one that exceeds the cap, can be reassessed to market value, which can mean a dramatically higher annual tax bill. Planning ahead lets us look at the options while you still have them.

Can we handle this without multiple office visits?

Yes. I work by video and in person, and most Malibu families finish their plan without repeated trips to an office. We can handle the planning conversation and the signing on a schedule that works for you.

Written by Eric D. Ridley: Estate Planning Attorney, Ridley Law. Serving Ventura County since 2010. Learn more about Eric →

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